I'm Drawing closer
by Shinikuryuu
Summary: Shirosaki keeps pestering Ichigo and it comes to a fight. T for violence and swearing
1. Pestring and Battles

**Disclaimer: I don't own, nor did I create any of the characters in bleach, or the series. Credit goes to Mr. Kubo Tite.**

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It was quiet. Rain pattered quietly on Ichigo's window. Kon had been dragged- kicking and screaming- out of the room by Ririn, who could tell he was upset. _Sulking again? You're so pathetic!_ A mocking voice in his head commented.

"Leave me alone!" He yelled out loud, punching the wall. His inner hollow was talking to him way too often, interfering with his battles. Interfering with his **life**.

"Ichi-nii?" He heard Karin's voice through the door. "Ichi-nii, is something wrong?" He sighed.

"No Karin." He replied through gritted teeth, trying to ignore his inner hollow's hysterical laughs. "I was asleep and had a bad dream." He said. He grimaced at how phony he sounded. "I'm fine Karin, honest." Ichigo heard her sigh, knowing she could tell he wasn't alright. But, she could tell he needed to be alone. "Alright. Sorry." She replied.

"Can't you leave me alone?" He hissed at the hollow.

_If I did that, then I wouldn't be able to devour you! _The hollow mocked, cackling. _Maybe I'll just drive you crazy. Would you let me fight then?_ Ichigo scowled.

"No." Ichigo said bluntly. "You're not going to devour me, and you're not going to drive me insane."

_That so? You seem pretty close to the edge as it is. _Ichigo gritted his teeth. _I mean, come on! Look at how bad that Arrancar beat you up, with one hand!_

"You got in my way!" He said, fighting to keep his voice down. "If you had just stayed quiet, I could have won!" The hollow laughed.

_And? If you beat him, you wouldn't let me fight! That's no fun, is it?_

"I wouldn't let you fight anyways!" He pounded his pillow. Why did **he **have to be the one with a maniac in his head? Why couldn't he just go away?

_Because you're weak. You know you are. Come one, you couldn't even protect that woman, what's her name?_

Ichigo buried his face in his pillow. He hated it when that was brought up. He hated his inability to help his friends. "Shut up." He said angrily. "Just shut up and leave me alone!" He heard another laugh, and then, silence.

And now he would wait for the next time. He hated it. He hated just waiting for the hollow to come and pester him again. The worst thing was: he had no idea when it would. Sometimes, he would only be left alone for a few minuets.

He rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. 6:32 PM. Dinner would be ready soon. Ichigo sat up and looked at the gray sky, missing Rukia to no end. He stood up and moved to his desk. He had a homework assignment to do- another essay.

'What you fear the most'. He grimaced again. His teacher had to assign that **now**?! He grabbed his head. Teachers always had a knack for assigning the wrong thing at the wrong time. 'and I'm not going to be able to think of anything except for the hollow.

He heard a slight laugh and tensed, but no voice followed. He relaxed, but only a bit. 'Okay, Ichigo, what you fear the most **besides** the hollow.' After 10 minuets of fruitless contemplating, he got an idea, and began to write.

A half hour later, He heard Yuzu's voice float up from downstairs, "Ichigo, Dinner!" He got up and went down to eat, effectively distracted from the "conversation" with his inner hollow.

Dinner was amazingly quiet- for dinners at their house, that is. There were the usual kicks to the face and elbows to the stomach between Ichigo and his dad, but it was otherwise peaceful.

Afterwards, he went back to his room to continue the essay. It was panning out nicely and was keeping him preoccupied. 20 minuets later, he was done and pretty happy with it. Okay, so it wasn't an incredible piece that would be remembered for years by his teacher, but it would at least get him a B.

Content and rather tired, even though it was still early, he flopped down on his bed. The rain softly pattered against his window, and he dimly heard Karin's voice from his door murmur, "Good night, Ichi-nii."

_Good night, **Ichi-nii**._ He heard. He jerked upright in his bed. "Messing with me now, huh?" he muttered. "Are you randomly going to speak to me and let me get mad when you pretend you didn't?" Hearing nothing in reply, he scowled and drifted into unconsciousness.

He was standing in that now-nostalgic sideways world, facing Zangetsu in Shinigami form. "Why am I here?" Ichigo asked almost automatically. Zangetsu pointed behind Ichigo. Ichigo turned to see his inner hollow.

"You're fighting your counterpart"

Ichigo blinked. "You want me to fight him?" He asked skeptically. "Wait, why?"

Shirosaki (the hollow) grinned. "Because I wouldn't quit complaining to him until he'd let me." Ichigo frowned.

"So, you were those random laughs because you were laughing at Zangetsu?"

"No, I just think it's **so** funny the way you go all rigid and freak out when you hear me. I was having fun." The hollow replied cockily. Ichigo scowled and the hollow's grin widened. "Oh, come on! There's nothing to do in this place!" He said, shrugging.

Without warning, Ichigo lunged forward and stabbed at him. "You bastard!" He yelled. Shirosaki sidestepped it easily and smacked him on the back of the head with the handle of his sword- which the same as Zangetsu, but with black hilt wrap.

Ichigo turned around, rubbing his head. He lunged again, ducked and lashed out with the huge sword. This time, he clipped the hollow in the side, drawing a little blood. The hollow frowned and swung the blade at Ichigo's head, hitting him just above his eyebrow.

Ichigo winced and jumped back. Blood was starting to run into his eye. He closed his eye and began to attack, when Shirosaki leapt forward and swung at him several times. The blades clanged together loudly, sending sparks flying.

The hollow stepped sideways and stabbed at Ichigo. He twisted out of the way, but was still hit in the side- barely. _Damn!_ He thought. _I can barely doge his attacks!_ He shifted forward and lunged at Shirosaki's left side. Feinting to the right, he managed to slash open the hollows shoulder.

Blood splattered the ground and the hollow jumped back, holding his shoulder. Ichigo smiled, glad he had gotten a good hit on Shirosaki, but then prepared himself as the hollow lunged, swinging his blade madly. Ichigo frantically blocked, each hit to his sword causing his arms to tremble.

_Where is he getting this power??_ He thought furiously. _Is he really this strong, or- _He stopped in mid-thought. _No, don't think that! _He thought, baring his teeth. Stepping back, he raised his sword, only to have his arm slashed by Shirosaki's insane attacks. He leapt out of the fray, panting.

The hollow grabbed the hilt wrap of the sword he was wielding and spun it above his head. Shirosaki threw the sword at him and Ichigo dodged to the side just in time. The hollow caught the wrap again and pulled the sword back. He twirled it again and threw it. Ichigo took the opportunity to run in and slashed at the hollow's throat.

Shirosaki pulled it back and parried the blow, delivering a cut to Ichigo's shoulder. They both jumped back, Ichigo panting. The hollow was no longer smiling. _I wonder._ Ichigo thought._ Can I use Bankai in this place? _He placed his hand on his arm and concentrated. "Ban-" He started, only to have his concentration broken by the hollow attacking his legs. Ichigo moved out of the way, barely in time, and glared at Shirosaki.

"That's not fair." The hollow commented. "We can't have that." He said, grinning eerily. "But," he continued, holding out the sword, "I can do **this**!" He said, swinging the sword. "Getsuga Tenshou!" The hollow yelled. A black mass of reiatsu swirled in Ichigo's direction and he jumped, but was still hit by the attack.

He was sent spiraling backwards into the ground, leaving a dent. The Shirosaki took up the opportunity to attack him again. He moved his sword in the way and kicked the hollow in the stomach. Shirosaki coughed and staggered back.

Ichigo jumped up, panting heavily. The hollow was beginning to tire as well. They stood, glaring at each other, Shirosaki's Black and gold eyes glinting with malice. "You're putting up a good fight," the hollow said, "But I **will** beat you!" He yelled, lunging at Ichigo once again. Ichigo ignored defending, receiving a painful cut to his arm, and stabbed the hollow in the side.

The hollow fell down to one knee and stared at his side. "That was a cheap trick!" He snarled, looking up at Ichigo angrily. His eyes widened and he coughed up blood.

"It was no trick," Ichigo replied. "I just ignored defending against you attack and attacked you. The hollow scowled and stumbled to his feet.

"I'm not done." Shirosaki said, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "I'm not done until I beat you!" He said, lunging forward, despite the profusely bleeding wounds all over his body. He swung repeatedly, yelling, "I haven't killed you, and I'm going to!"

_What is with this guy? _Ichigo thought to himself rather frantically. _He just doesn't quit, despite the fact that he's bleeding all over! _The hollow continued to attack insanely, hitting Ichigo's forearms several times. Ichigo lunged forward and smashed his elbow into his face, then planted his knee into the hollows chest.

Shirosaki yelled in pain and fell down. "I'm… not going… to… give up… until I… beat you!" He panted, trying to get up. Ichigo looked down at him. He didn't feel sorry for him at all.

The hollow got to all fours and said in an insane and slightly choked voice, "I'm going… to… kill you!" He said, still panting. His arms trembled and gave way. "Damn it." He said pathetically. "Damn it, damn it, **damn it!**" Ichigo stared at him.

"You're done." Ichigo said without emotion "I win. You got to have your fun and fight, now leave me alone!" He said, walking away. Shirosaki grimaced. Ichigo looked around. How was he supposed to leave this twisted place? He furrowed his brow and looked at Zangetsu. "How do I leave?" He asked, putting his sword on his shoulder casually.

"Ichigo!" He heard distantly. He looked back to see the hollow glaring at him, still on the ground. "I'm gonna kill you!" He yelled.

Ichigo actually smiled. "Not today." He said a bit cockily. He looked back at Zangetsu. "But really, how do I leave?" Zangetsu looked at the hollow, then at Ichigo. Ichigo noticed the world fading. "Hey, what the-?" He said, looking around, panic-stricken. "What's going-" He sat up.

He was in bed. _I'm going to devour you, Ichigo. Next time I will win._

Ichigo sighed. "Give up."

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EEEEE! More drabbles! Please reveiw


	2. Resistance

Ichigo sat in the classroom, bored out of his mind. He was starting to fall asleep. When he did, Rukia saved the day by doing the only thing she could do. She beaned him in the back of the head with an eraser. Ichigo jerked awake as the small object hit the back of his head.

He rubbed the point of contact and sat up straight. He looked at the clock and groaned inwardly. He had another hour of this! Without thinking, he banged his head on the desk.

"Kurosaki-kun?" The teacher asked sharply.

Ichigo looked up, a huge red mark evident on his forehead.

"Don't fall asleep."

"I didn't. This time." He mumbled.

He rubbed his eyelids. How could he not fall asleep? Here he was, sitting in the most boring class of the day after spending a long night tracking down hollows. As the class dragged on, he slouched lower and lower in his seat. By the time the bell rang, his chin was practically resting on his chest.

Ichigo stood up and yawned, stretching. Slinging his book bag over his shoulder, he walked out of the classroom. It didn't take long for Rukia to catch up to him.

"Oi, Ichigo!"

"Mm?" He replied looking over his shoulder at her.

"Don't space out like that. I said your name like, 5 times."

He jerked in surprise. She had?

"Sorry." He said bashfully. "Guess I just need sleep."

"Ichigo," She said, a hint of worry creeping into her voice, "we didn't really spend very long fighting hollows. It was only an hour or two."

She was right. But Ichigo was having trouble getting to sleep lately. It was Shirosaki's voice. He was back to his pestering, yet again. When did that fricking hollow quit?

"Just having trouble sleeping." He said distantly. His momentary space-out was disturbed by an annoying, rasp-like alarm. He looked down at his belt and saw the eyes of the skull-like badge flashing on and off. He and Rukia hurried out of the building to find an absolutely b repulsive /b hollow coming towards the school. It had hugely disproportional claws that dragged along the ground, and its large head sported an insect-like mask. Its body was rather plain, but it sported several arm-like appendages. Each one sported a claw or tentacle of some sort.

" b OH MY GOD/b " Ichigo exclaimed. Rukia just stared. Ichigo pressed the badge to his chest and was forced from his body. "Take care of my body, Rukia." He said over his shoulder. He drew his large Zanpakuto and prepared to strike.

The hollow sniffed the air and swung its huge head to leer at Ichigo.

"Shini… gami…" It said in a slurring voice that randomly jumped and lowered in pitch.

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thing and jumped up. He quickly sliced through the grotesque creature's skull. The hollow disappeared within seconds. Rukia strode forward.

"That was b not /b a normal hollow." She said, disgust obvious in her voice. "That thing was an abomination. It hardly even had any power. If it wasn't so close, we wouldn't have noticed it."

"Yeah." Ichigo said. "I don't know how hollows b should /b look, but I know it isn't that."

Rukia nodded in agreement. Ichigo quickly returned to his body.

"That thing made me want to puke." Ichigo exclaimed as they walked to his house. "Seriously, I've never seen something so disgusting!"

"I should probably report it to Soul Society." Rukia mused.

"Rukia, are you okay?" Ichigo inquired, "You've been really quiet since we saw that… thing."

"I'm fine," She said. "I'm just kind of creeped out."

"If you weren't I'd say you were nuts." Ichigo joked. She didn't laugh. Becoming irritated with her absentmindedness, he took her by surprise by planting his foot in her back and pushing her over. "Rukia, something else is bugging you, I can tell. Its not like you to space out like this. That's something I would do."

Rukia scowled and walked on.

_That was mean, Ichigo_

Shirosaki.

_NO!_ Ichigo thought to himself. I God damn it! _Can't you leave me alone?! _ He screamed inwardly to the hollow.

Rukia stopped in her tracks. "Ichigo?" She said worriedly. "Are you alright? Your Reiatsu is fluctuating."

"Huh?" He said. Shirosaki actually went quiet, as though he wanted to listen to her.

"Your Reiatsu is practically crushing me, Ichigo!" She complained. "It keeps fluctuating, and its really annoying!"

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I don't know how to make it stop."

"In any case," she continued, "I'm going to Urahara's shop. I've got to pick up some supplies. Bye!" Rukia waved and hurried off.

_Why'd you kick her?_ Shirosaki asked.

_Why do you care?_ He snarled in reply.

_I don't know. _The hollow said, probably shrugging. _Not sure if you noticed, but she is pretty. _He commented.

_**What?!**_ Ichigo exclaimed in utter surprise.

_In any case, I'm not very happy with how that last battle came up. So, I'm back to pester you. _Shirosaki said casually._ If you haven't already noticed, that is. _

Ichigo shook his head in sheer irritation. He opened the door to have his dad knee him in the stomach.

"You're slow!" Isshin exclaimed. Ichigo doubled over in pain, but was gateful it hadn't been a blow to the nuts.

"Leave me alone." Ichigo mumbled to both his dad and Shirosaki. His dad fell silent, noticing Ichigo's reiatsu start fluctuating even worse.

"Right." His dad said awkwardly, "Uh…"

Ichigo walked past him, went upstairs to his room and collapsed on his bed. Shirosaki had gone quiet, thank god. It didn't take long for Ichigo to fall asleep.

_Fear. All Ichigo felt was fear. It was going to catch him._ Wait, what's going to catch me?_ Ichigo thought to_ himselfI Why am I running? _He looked behind him to see the hollow from earlier. Why should I be running from this thing? I'm a Shinigami, for cryin' out loud! This thing was weak! Then it hit him. Before, the thing's reiatsu had been inconsequential. Now, it was heavy, like a huge wool blanket threatening to smother him._

_"Ichigo!" His inner hollow materialized in front of him. "Let me fight!" He demanded. "I could beat this trash in a second! Let me fight!"_

_The hollow was blocking his path. The thing was getting closer. "Get out of my way!" He yelled at his counterpart. "Move!_

_"No."_

_The thing was drawing closer. It was almost on top of him!_

_"Fine!" He yelled, shoving his Zanpakuto into the hollow's hands._ There was a moment of darkness and we awoke from the dream. But he wasn't in his room. He was sitting on the side of a building. And Shirosaki wasn't there.

Heh, if he bangs his head enough times, he'll get Dain Bramage, err, Brain Damage like I think I've got! Seriously, I swear there's a flat spot on my head from slamming my head on my desk at school and stuff. Anyhow, I'm not sure why I did the thing about the ugly hollow. Juist spur of the moment. If you do fanart on this, please **don't **do a picture of the hollow.


	3. King For a Day?

**IchiRuki if you squint hard.**

**-aKaKitsune-KK: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Sorry about the slight wait, I've had a killer writer's block!**

**Barranca: Sorry about the confusion. Yes, they did switch places. I know, he probably would be more stubborn, but I couldn't really stretch the scene out. It wasn't a plot on Shiro's part, he just took advantage of the nightmare. Ichigo wasn't influenced by Shiro to push her, he was just irritated with her spacey-ness. And, yes, Shiro harbors an affection for Rukia :3**

**Mellu-chan: Why thank you!**

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He was king! _For the moment. _He thought to himself. Shirosaki flexed his fingers experimentally. It felt good to be in control. He looked in a mirror. He looked exactly like the king.

"_What the hell?!" _Ichigo raged to him, _"What are you doing!?"_

"_You said I could fight." _Shirosaki mocked.

"_That's because I thought I was gonna die!" _Ichigo retorted. _"You got in my way, damn it!"_

"_You were in no danger." _Shirosaki rationalized. _"I mean, if you let me fight, you're not in danger."_

"_Give my body back!"_

"_No."_

Shirosaki just tuned out the rest of his screams.

_And he says I'm a pain in the ass. _He thought irately. Ichigo's voice became even louder.

"_What do you plan on doing, anyways?! You gonna go eat some helpless soul?!"_

"_Kill weak hollows." _Shirosaki replied. _"Eating souls would be boring. They couldn't put up a fight."_

"_You're kidding, right?" _Ichigo asked skeptically.

"_No." _Shirosaki's voice was completely serious.

Ichigo fell silent. Shirosaki jumped as someone knocked on the door.

"Ichigo," It was Yuzu, "Dinner time."

"Alright." Shirosaki replied, hoping he sounded effectively like Ichigo. "I'm coming."

"_Stay away from my family!" _Ichigo hollered.

"_You're loud, king." _Shirosaki complained. _"Be quiet."_

Ichigo didn't. Shirosaki just tuned him out as best he could. He confidently strode down the stairs, hoping he could keep up a good act. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a need to remain secretive. He supposed it was because it would be troublesome if someone starting asking questions.

The hollow sat at the table. He had watched Ichigo eat before. This time it was lasagna. Simple enough. He waited until he was sure he could start eating and picked up a fork and knife. How did this work again?

"_Tch, dumbass." _Ichigo sneered. _"You're not getting any help from me."_

Somehow, he managed to not make a scene, though Isshin kept looking up at him nervously, rather that attacking. It wasn't until Rukia got back that things got bad. She noticed his different reiatsu very quickly.

"Ichigo?" She said, a bit frightened, "Your reiatsu is… different. Are you okay?"

" I'm fine." He said, hoping that quick answers was characteristic to Ichigo. "Never felt better." He smiled way too wide. He looked insane, as a matter of fact. Seeing the look of horror, he stopped smiling.

"I'm, uh… going for a walk. Yeah. See you later!" He said hurriedly, opened his window and jumped out. She had noticed something.

"_Having trouble fitting in?" _Ichigo taunted. _"You can never fit in with humans. You're a hollow. I doubt you even fit in with them!"_

Shirosaki didn't have time to make a retort. The hollow sensor went off.

_"Don't even consider it!"_

Too late. Shirosaki had pressed the badge to his chest. He was forced out of his body in the Shinigami robes. He noticed that his mask was on his face. He headed off in the direction of the hollow.

"_Stop!" _Ichigo screamed. Shirosaki ignored him completely. Soon, he spotted the hollow. It wasn't quite as disgusting as the last one, but it wasn't pretty, either. It had stubby wings sprouting from its back, an ox-like mask, fat little fingers, big feet, and four arms.

"Oh my god!" They exclaimed at the same time. Why were there so many hollows like his? Shirosaki raised his sword and defeated it in one strike.

"_See? Nothing went amiss." _Shirosaki said to the livid Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called from behind.

"_No!" _Ichigo said, mortified. _"We can't let her see me like this!"_

He noted how Ichigo had said "we", and, for once, Shirosaki agreed with him, and did the fastest thing he could. Yes, he ran. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try it.

"_You moron!" _Ichigo screamed, _"I meant give my body back!"_

Rukia was following them, though she was falling behind. Shirosaki smiled. How could a Shinigami in a gigai catch up? Rukia, however, had already gotten out of the gigai. But Shirosaki didn't know that. If he turned, she'd see the mask.

"Ichigo!" She yelled, sensing a massive hollow reiatsu, rather than his. "Ichigo, wait!"

Shirosaki increased his pace. How could she be running this fast?

"_Stupid! She's not in her gigai!" _Ichigo yelled.

"Shit!" He said out loud. She was gaining on him!

He took an abrupt turn to the left and she glimpsed the mask. Rukia stopped dead in her tracks.

"Ichigo…"

"_You careless idiot!" _Ichigo wailed, _"She saw the mask! Get back to my body before anything else happens!"_

Shirosaki scowled, but obliged and returned to the house. His body-- well, Ichigo's body-- was lying on the floor. Ichigo, dismayed, was quiet for a moment. He was screwed! Rukia probably thought he had been taken over or something.

"_I hate you!" _Ichigo cried, in a full out rage. He might as well have been beating the shit out of Shirosaki, because he felt awful. He had probably scared the girl so bad that she'd stay away from the king, and inevitably, away from him. _"I hate you! Why can't you leave me alone! Stay out of my life!"_

The hollow was silent.

"_Well?" _Ichigo raged to Shirosaki, _"Got an answer, jackass?"_

"_I'm not going to be the one to have to answer to Rukia. You can have your body back." _He replied.

Ichigo was relieved, but only for a minuet, as Rukia came storming into the house, screaming his name. He rushed to her and was startled when she threw her arms around him.

"Ichigo, you idiot!" She yelled, pounding him. "What did you do? What was that?"

Ichigo pulled her off of him.

"I'm sorry, Rukia." He said sincerely, "But, I can't explain it right now."

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**Sorry its kind of late. I had a block, and was working on dissolving him with art.**


	4. I Won't Hurt Them Much

**Lunatic Pandora1: I know they'd sense it, but then I'd have to shorten it a lot. I'm not good at drawing stuff out.**

**Barranca: Of course Rukia isn't satisfied. Otherwise, it'd be over too soon. I know Shiro probably wouldn't like a Shinigami, but I like crap like that, sadly.**

**Mellu-chan: I don't really know what you meant by "Rukia ch"**

**All the people asking, "is Shirosaki in love with Rukia?": YOU DECIDE IF THATS WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE AND STOP ASKING ME!**

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Unfortunately for Ichigo, Rukia didn't just leave it at that. In fact, she had taken the liberty of calling Renji, and was now sitting in Ichigo's closet with the door open, staring at him intently. Renji, who was occupying Ichigo's chair at his desk, had no idea what was going on, but was clearly siding with Rukia. Ichigo was staring at the floor sheepishly.

"Ichigo, what the hell happened?" She demanded.

He gave no reply, and received a smack on the head from Renji.

"Oi, dumb ass!" Renji scolded, "Rukia asked you a question! Answer her!"

"I said," Ichigo voiced irritably, as it turned out he had actually mumbled something, "I can't explain it right now." His response earned him another smack to the head.

"Like hell you can't!" Renji very nearly yelled. He looked up.

"Renji, you don't even know why you're here." He snarled at the livid Shinigami. "And be quiet, or do you want to explain you being here to my dad?"

That shut him up.

"Ichigo," Rukia softly spoke up again, "I saw a hollow mask on your face." Renji's eyes widened. "Why did you have a hollow mask?"

"I don't know!" Ichigo said angrily, then sighed. "I mean, I know, but- there's no way I could explain it right now."

"Idiot-" Renji began to say, only to be interrupted by Ichigo, who had looked up and was now glaring into his eyes.

"Renji, piss off." He snapped, standing up. "I'm leaving."

He was stopped, however, when Renji came up behind him and forced him to the ground. He found his arms pinned behind his back by Renji's arms and one of Rukia's binding spells.

"Renji, what the hell-"

"Quiet." Renji snapped to the pinned teenager. "We're not letting you leave until you explain this."

"Stop it!" Ichigo exclaimed, outraged at his inability to get the Shinigami and the bind off of him.

"Ichigo!" His dad, who apparently heard Ichigo hit the floor and his angry yells, was knocking on the door. "Ichigo, what's going on in there?"

Rukia and Renji exchanged worried glances. Ichigo smirked.

"Dad! I'm being-" Renji clapped his hand over Ichigo's mouth.

"What now?" Renji whispered urgently to Rukia. "If he sees this, he'll probably call the cops."

Ichigo tried to tell them to leave so that he didn't have to explain this to his father, but Renji still had his hand over his mouth. Ichigo thrashed around on the floor.

"We can't stay much longer, his dad is gonna come in soon." Renji said urgently. "Rukia, open the window." He said, throwing Ichigo over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" He yelled at the red-headed Shinigami, who's hand had come off his mouth.

"Shut up, Idiot!" Rukia hissed in his ear.

"No!" He yelled in her face. Rukia responded by grabbing the back of his neck and squeezing the pressure points. He yelped and tried to squirm out of her grip, but found himself incapable due to his position over Renji's shoulder.

Rukia released him, but not before whispering in his ear, "Quiet before I do something worse." From the look in her eyes, Ichigo could tell that it was likely to be a kick to the nuts later.

"Let's go." Renji said, jumping out the window. Ichigo, not in a good mood, glared at Rukia, who was trailing along behind them.

Despite the fact that they were in gigais, they ran pretty fast. It didn't take long before they reached an old parking garage and dumped a seriously pissed off Ichigo on the floor. He landed on his face since his arms were still held by Rukia's spell.

"OW!" He yelled when his nose hit the hard concrete floor.

"Alright," Rukia continued, "Now we won't have people interrupting. Ichigo, **what happened?**

"I'm not gonna explain it!" He spat. "Just leave me the fuck alone!"

Renji scowled and stepped on Ichigo's back. Ichigo yelled in pain and Renji pushed down, forcing the oxygen from his body. Ichigo tried to wriggle out from under him, but he stayed put.

"Get off!" He choked out. "Can't breathe!**"**

"Renji…" Rukia started, "Renji, I think you should get off."

The red-headed Shinigami shook his head.

"Renji!" She yelled, "You're gonna kill him!"

Renji continued to ignore her, and she slapped him in the face.

"Get off him you dumbass!" She screamed. He continued to ignore her, however, and she attempted to tackle him. But their radical size difference made it futile. "Fine!" She shouted, and kicked him in a rather tender spot. Renji fell off Ichigo and lay on the ground, doubled over in pain. Ichigo inhaled deeply and glared at the two.

"Let me go!" He protested, now that he had enough oxygen to speak again.

"Not until you explain." Rukia answered for Renji, who was still on the floor, rather incapacitated.

"_Need help?" _Shirosaki said casually. _"I could get you outta this."_

"_Piss off."_ Ichigo snarled to him.

Rukia noticed the flux instantly.

"Ichigo?…" She asked, frightened. She had noticed this happening a lot now. "Ichigo, why is your reiatsu fluctuating again?"

Ichigo gave no reply, but the fluxes died down.

Renji, who had recovered enough to stand up, had positioned himself protectively in front of her.

"Rukia, did you bring your glove with you?" He asked, meaning the red glove with the skull that was used to force Shinigami out of their bodies.

"No, I left it in the rush we were in," She said. Renji cursed.

"_I can get them off your back!" _Shirosaki insisted. _"Come on, king! I won't hurt them… severely."_

"_I said piss off!" _Ichigo yelled at him.

"_Why?"_ He taunted.

"_You'll probably kill them!" _He said angrily.

"_Nah, not kill." _Shirosaki said casually, _"Maybe put them in a lot of pain, but…"_

"_NO!" _Ichigo yelled back.

Rukia and Renji were still staring, and Ichigo realized now that the bind had lifted. He jumped to his feet and tried to run, but found his way blocked by Renji.

"Move!" He yelled, preparing to attack him if necessary.

"_If you're going to attack them, let me have fun, too!"_ Shirosaki whined. _"Come on!"_

"_NO!"_ Ichigo screamed. He tried to focus on the situation at hand, but it was getting hard. He was finding it nearly impossible to focus on the situation at hand and at the same time keep Shirosaki at bay.

Renji was first to attack, and dove at Ichigo, who moved to the side. Rukia just watched, unsure of what to do. Renji rolled on the floor and leapt to his feet. Ichigo ran at him, swinging his foot at Renji's face. Renji blocked it with his forearm and grabbed Ichigo's foot.

Trying to get his foot loose, Ichigo jumped backwards. Renji let go as he jumped, however, and Ichigo fell backwards, hitting a wall. He pushed off and punched Renji in the face, who stumbled back with a split lip. His face twisted into a snarl as he launched himself at Ichigo, and he brought his knee up to hit him in the stomach, but Ichigo moved aside and kicked him in the back, sending him to the floor.

The livid red-head sprang to his feet and rushed him again, this time tackling him. They rolled on the ground, each trying to get a hit on the other. Renji punched Ichigo in the side of the face, and Ichigo returned the blow by head-butting him in the nose. This caught Renji off guard, and Ichigo got on top of him, his knees on Renji's chest and his arms holding his pinned opponent's elbows.

Rukia caught him off guard by kicking him in the ribs, and Ichigo rolled off Renji. They both stood back up, Renji's nose and lip bleeding. She jumped at Ichigo, and he was torn between defending himself or just dodging. He ducked and wound up doing both, because the top of his head connected with her stomach as he rose again. Rukia fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

Ichigo dodged an attack from the side by Renji and kneed him in the small of his back. Renji fell over, but swung his leg out, tripping Ichigo. He fell over ungracefully and hit his head on the ground. He lay there, clutching the spot that had taken the blow, feeling warm blood seep through his fingers. He cursed loudly but was cut off from a kick by Renji.

He sprang to his feet and bit-- yes, **bit**-- Renji on the shoulder. Taken by surprise, Renji fell over again to see Ichigo standing over him, glaring menacingly. He felt a sharp pain in the side and found that Ichigo was kicking him in the ribs, hard.

He tried to get up, but Ichigo had stepped on his stomach and was driving the air out of him. He looked into Ichigo's eyes and found that the teen was grinning. He grabbed Ichigo's ankle and threw him off balance, and he toppled over on top of him. Renji punched him in the face, and Ichigo sprung back to his feet in rage.

Rukia, who had been on the ground, snuck up behind him and jumped up onto his back. Ichigo tried to get her off, but she held tight. She grabbed his arms and held them behind his back. Ichigo spun around and barely dodged a punch from Renji. Renji punched at him again, this time hitting him square in the face. Ichigo stumbled backwards and hit the wall with Rukia still on his back.

She gave a strangled cry, unable to let out a full on yell due to the fact that the breath had been driven out of her by the collision. She dropped to the ground and Ichigo faced Renji again. At this point, both of them were panting, but Ichigo was in worse shape thanks to the bleeding wound to his head from falling over and hitting it on the ground. They glared at each other.

"_Ichigo," _Shirosaki said in a low voice, _"You're going to lose._

"_No I won't!"_ He insisted. _"If you stay out of my way, I'll do fine!"_

"_No, you won't!" _Shirosaki pestered, _"You're already in a bad position as it is! And how are you going to explain the fight? Hmmm? You might as well spill it or let me fight them and have my fun!"_

"_Hell no!" _Ichigo snarled in reply, swinging his foot at Renji's knee. Renji moved his leg up and Ichigo's foot came in contact with the side of Renji's leg. Renji reached out and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder, yanking him towards himself. He kneed Ichigo in the stomach and Ichigo doubled over.

"_Come on, king!" _Shirosaki whined, _"You never let me have fun! I won't kill them this time!"_

"_I said **no**!" _Ichigo protested.

"_Then I'll get in your way!" _Shirosaki screamed back. Ichigo tried to dodge a punch from Renji, but he found himself rendered incapable of movement. Renji's fist collided with Ichigo's nose and blood spurted out as he fell back. He managed to throw his arms out behind him and cushioned the worst of his fall, but it still hurt bad.

Ichigo was stuck in this position, with his legs splayed out in front of him and his hands on the ground behind him supporting his body. Renji picked him up by the front of his shirt and held him at eye level. Ichigo could only look on, eyes wide with fear.

"_What happens when the king's horse throws him off, Ichigo?" _Shirosaki quizzed mockingly. _"The horse steps on the king's head."_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**I honestly am not sure where this is going. I had a plan before, but now I dunno. Depending on the reviews, I may make Shiro take over, or Ichigo just gets teh shit beaten outta him. Both are interesting to try and write out.**


	5. King, or Horse?

**MissFlesh: I totally agree with you. Watching Ichi getting beat up and then have Shiro take over kicks ass!**

**Hinata-no-Sabaku: Maybe I can fit both in ;)**

**Hollowheart3: Lol, I can imagine you sitting at your computer, totally worked up, gripping your desk, your friend going, "WTF?!"**

**Barranca: Oh yeah, its gonna be MUCH worse for Ichi : )**

**Shandul-Kun: I won't disappoint you!**

**Xx.Fma-Dnangel.xX: Good idea! **

**Seraph of Darkness: Yeah, I think I'm making it ShiroRuki. Gonna be hard, though.**

**Thanks to all you who wrote reviews, and to the people who added me and the story to the alert! You guys are awesome! I honestly never expected this many reviews!**

"_So," _Shirosaki taunted, _"Can I come out NOW?"_

"_Stop it!" _Ichigo screamed to the mocking hollow as Renji punched him repeatedly, _"Let me move, damn you!!!"_

"_Hm,"_ The hollow said in fake contemplation, _"no."_

"_You bastard!" _Ichigo screamed for the umpteenth time, outraged, _"Stop it! Leave me alone!"_

Shirosaki only chuckled creepily. Ichigo could see him standing behind Renji between furious punches to the face, that sadistic grin on his face. _"I don't want to." _He said simply, still grinning, _"I like the real world. And," _He added, looking over at Rukia, who was standing off to the side, looking unsure of what to do, _"I think that I might have something to… try, with her." _Shirosaki waggled his eyebrows.

"_Stay away from Rukia!" _He yelled back, _"I won't let you take control!"_

"_Oh, I'm afraid you don't have a choice," _He grinned.

"_What are you-" _Ichigo began, before he noticed his vision was starting to narrow, like doors were closing on him. _"NO!" _He raged, _"Stop it!"_

"_Too late." _Shirosaki laughed maniacally. When the last scrap of light had faded, Ichigo felt himself pushed to the background. His vision returned, but it was blurred and faded.

_Damnit! _He thought bitterly, _I can't do anything!_

_That's right, _The hollow mocked, _And I can still hear you when you try to think to yourself._

He didn't have any sort of control. That was obvious as Shirosaki grabbed Renji's wrist as he was swinging to punch again and twisted it cruelly. The redhead cried out in pain and dropped him. Landing perfectly, the hollow twisted Renji's arm behind his back. He pushed up abruptly and dislocated Renji's arm.

"Stop it!" Rukia ordered, her voice shaking.

_That's enough!_ Ichigo hollered as the Shinigami dropped to his knees in pain.

_No its not,_ Shirosaki mocked, _that's not even close to enough!_

Shirosaki raised his foot and planted it in Renji's back, driving him to the ground.

"Ichigo stop it!" Rukia yelled at him, trembling.

Shirosaki grinned, laughing insanely. "I'm not Ichigo." He said, looking her coldly in the eye. His were black and gold. He kicked Renji in the head. Ichigo couldn't stifle a gasp as Renji's head snapped to the side and he didn't move.

_You killed him!_ Ichigo screamed, convinced that Renji's neck was broken. Shirosaki bent down and checked Renji for a pulse, just to get Ichigo to be quiet.

_He's not dead, moron. _He said like an adult who has lost their patience in a child.

Ichigo sighed with relief. Despite having a demonic maniac -who had just beat the crap out of someone who was equally matched with himself and probably wanted to "plow" Rukia- controlling his body and Rukia was probably thinking he'd gone off the deep end, he was relieved. The relief was only momentary, however, as Shirosaki had begun to approach Rukia.

_Get away from her. _He growled. _Do- not- touch- her._

_What'll you do? _Shirosaki mocked, _In case you forgot, I'm in control." _He said the last part with a defined touch of malice as he continued to approach her. Rukia was trembling, looking on with wide eyes.

"Renji," She said, tears in her eyes, "Renji!"

"He's not dead." Shirosaki said simply, "Just out cold." Rukia didn't seem to hear him. She walked past and knelt beside her unconscious friend.

"Renji!" She said again, louder. "RENJI!"

"HE'S NOT DEAD!" Shirosaki roared, livid about being ignored. Rukia flinched in surprise and stood up.

"Why did you hurt him so bad?!" She very nearly screamed, "Ichigo, what's wrong with you?!"

"I'm not Ichigo," he said again softly, looking into her eyes without the cold, glare-like gaze.

_So beautiful, _Shirosaki thought, practically purring and not realizing that Ichigo could hear him. He walked over to her and reached out to touch her face.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed. Shirosaki flinched back.

"I won't hurt you," He said, "I promise."

"Don't touch me." She warned him with a dangerous look on her face. "Stay away from me you- you-" She was lost for words.

"I promise," he whispered in her ear, despite her protests, "I won't hurt you." Looking into her eyes, he stroked her hair. She backed up further and bumped a wall.

"_STAY AWAY FROM HER!" _Ichigo bellowed, _"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM RUKIA!"_

"_NO!" _Shirosaki hollered back. _"I've had to watch from the corners of your mind, all your fights, all the times you've been beat up! I've offered to help you, but what do you do? You shut me out! And I have to look on with torment as you run around with her every day!"_

Ichigo fell silent.

"Why?" She asked, trembling, "Why did you hurt Renji, who I've known for so long, then come over and expect me to let you just blow it off?"

"I don't expect you to blow it off," He said softly, "I don't expect anything."

"Then what are you doing?" She demanded.

"I love you." He breathed in her ear.

"_Oh good God!" _Ichigo said. If he'd been in control of his body, he'd have rolled his eyes. If he'd been in control, Shirosaki wouldn't be saying this at all, though. _"That is so corny!"_

"_Shut up." _Shirosaki growled back. Ichigo chuckled, finding the situation slightly familiar.

"Liar." She said through gritted teeth. Shirosaki backed away a few paces, offended.

"I'm not a liar," He said in earnest, "I do love you. Honest." To Ichigo, he sounded somewhat like a child.

"Then why did you hurt Renji?" Rukia demanded.

"He was hurting the king." He explained, shrugging. "He gets beat up, I help."

"_After letting me get the shit beaten out of me for a while," _Ichigo mumbled.

"_I said shut up." _Shirosaki growled. Ichigo snorted with laughter.

"You're not making any sense." She said flatly.

"I don't have to," He said, "I just want to be with you."

"Why?" She inquired.

"Because you're so beautiful," He purred, "You're so beautiful I couldn't stand being in the background any longer." Rukia blushed.

"You think I'm beautiful?" She asked.

"You're more than just beautiful," He whispered, "You're an angel." He stroked her hair, this time without her flinching. Rukia stared at him with those amazing sapphire eyes he adored so much.

**BLAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!**

**I'm bored because my brother took over World of Warcraft and we still share a fucking account!**

**Anyways, I'm having trouble making it ShiroRuki, so I'll rip off your fucking head if you call it Sappy, cheesy, corny, or anything else like that.**


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